Monday, May 24, 2010

MOVING HOUSE

A two-month absence. It couldn’t be helped. I abandoned most of my reading and, for sure, my writing while my husband and I packed up our place in the country in preparation for moving to Guelph. We lived in Eramosa Township for twenty-seven years and poured ourselves into the place. Our gardens and the lovely twenty acres of land gave back to us immeasurably, and leaving all that gave us much grief, even if it was the right time to make this major change.

Moving to this stone house near Guelph’s Speed River is the beginning of a new stage of our lives, and we have begun the work of make the place our own. For a number of years, the former owner did not give this house the care it deserved, so restoring the house to good health is not exactly simple. If a person were to treat him or herself the way this house was treated, I think that poor person would be hospitalized. Never mind. We are giving ourselves to the tasks that need to be done, including finding someone to repair and paint the windows, fix the stone work, paint the outside trim, install a decent shower, build kitchen cupboards and so on.

I’ve had a lot of pleasure unpacking my books and placing them on the shelves, setting up my new office, hanging things on the walls. Now I feel I can work here, even if I haven’t decided on which wall to hang some of my art. It’s all a new adventure in a beautiful room at the front of the house.